Ramro Sathi!

Hellloooooo everyone!

        It is currently 8:30 am here and I just walked into my room to discover the WiFi is finally working! But probably temporarily. This is the start of my second day here at the orphanage and things are going really well. But lets start at the beginning.

        Rajendra's brother Bijendra picked me up at the airport with his nephew and we drove back to Ramro Sathi, if you can call it driving. It felt more like a thrill ride at an amusement park. Traffic here is not really governed by any road rules. Dividing lines separating traffic don't even exist as suggestions and most drivers take whatever path is most convenient for them. At one point, we were one of three cars driving side-by-side on a two lane road serving traffic in both directions. Oddly enough, I felt perfectly safe. It's almost as if the constant expectation of an accident makes them less likely to happen. 

        Anyways, we got to Ramro Sathi around 9 pm. It's actually a very comfortable place. We are at the edge of the city (I mean the very very edge-- the forest begins two houses down from us) and I have a beautiful view of Kathmandu from my window. There are five floors. The first floor is the boys floor and the kids kitchen, the second floor is the girls floor, the third floor is for the volunteers, and then Rajendra and his family live above us. Bijendra brought me to the volunteer floor, where I met Rajendra and the two other volunteers. Maika has been here for one month already and Artur has been here for two months. They are both from France and are very friendly. I talked with them for a little while and then went upstairs to eat dinner with Rajendra and his family. They are so welcoming and keep telling me that this house is my house and I can ask them for anything. After that I met some of the older kids but they were pretty engrossed in a movie so we didn't speak much before I went to bed. My bed has the comfort level equivalent to a mossy rock, but my room is fairly large with access to a porch. Currently my only roommates are a few cockroaches, but within the next week this place is going to get absolutely packed. I'm actually pretty bummed about it. Rajendra had a scheduling mishap so soon four more volunteers are arriving, making 7 volunteers for 14 children. It isn't a very good ratio for bonding, or feeling helpful. But, it is what it is. It might be fun to have that many people, especially since it will give me someone to do touristy things with. Maika and Artur are pretty tired with the tourist attractions. Speaking of tourist attractions, I will be going to Thamel later today. It is an area of the city with a lot of shops and cafes. More on that later.

          Since yesterday was Saturday, we spent the whole day in Ramro Sathi with the kids. The main meal of the day here is breakfast, which is always dal bhat (beans, rice, chicken, curry). I've been getting used to eating it with my hands, which actually involves a surprising amount of etiquette and dexterity. We ate around 10 and then spent an hour or so making bracelets with string Artur bought in Thamel. Some of the kids are shy, but a few of them were very open. Most of them don't know how to pronounce my name, which I find amusing. I am so used to having such a standard Anglo/American name that it is refreshing and funny to suddenly be somewhere my name sounds so foreign. I am called Katee, Miss, or Ket Miss.  I'm still trying to get everyone's names down but I'm not struggling as much as I thought. After bracelets some of the kids watched a movie and others practiced karate and goofed around. Unfortunately, it was raining on their only day off so a lot of energy had to be expended in the house. It was crazy. They all treat each other as siblings so there was a lot of fighting, crying, comforting, and laughing. Lunch time is snack time, and Artur and Maika spent almost the whole day making crepes for everyone. It cleared up a little after lunch so I played some games outside before Rajendra came home. It is so funny to see how they act around him. As soon as he walked in the door they fell silent or grabbed a book and started to read. They clearly have a lot of respect for him and he treats them as his own children. I ended up taking a nap in the afternoon and when I woke up it was time for dinner, which consisted of bitter rice (prepared in a way so that it looks like corn flakes) in yogurt with cut mangoes. The mangoes here are delicious. We made some more bracelets and then I went to bed.  I woke up at 7 this morning and then walked the kids to school about 15 minutes away. Soon I will be going to Thamel. Sorry my writing is all over the place-- I have so much to say I can't organize my thoughts! I will try to write again soon.

-Kate

The views from my window!

Ramro Sathi! (Green)

Maika and Dip making crepes

Where the kids play badminton 

Shiva using my toe as an anchor for his bracelet

View from the Monkey Temple

Monkey Temple!

Monkeys at the monkey temple!

Me at the monkey temple!